Customer Reviews

The Twilight Saga: New Moon - Music From The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

5 star:		(44)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The best thing you can say about any movie's soundtrack is that it can stand on its own, and that no matter what you think of the movie, the soundtrack is chock full of amazing music.

And the soundtrack to "New Moon" is one of those -- apparently the people behind it have gone completely indie in their tastes. Whether you love or hate the teen-vampire-infatuation flick, it's undeniable that the soundtrack is bursting with brilliant bands -- angular rock'n'roll and lush echoing pop, some of it well-known (Muse, Thom Yorke) and some relative obscure (Grizzly Bear, Lykke Li).

"Meet me on the equinox/Meet me halfway/The sun is perched at its highest peak/In the middle of the day... " Ben Gibbard sings distantly as the gentle guitars swirl around him. A storm of drums builds up every time he laments that "everything, everything ends," as his pronouncements about an unknown lover become eerier and more surreal ("A window/An open tomb/The sun crawls across your bedroom/A halo/A waning moon/Your last breath moving through you").

There's a pretty good showing of solid rock'n'roll following Death Cab For Cutie's memorable introduction -- Band of Skulls provides the buzzing, blunt-edged rocker "Friends," Hurricane Bells erupts in a buzzing storm of fuzzy bass and sharp beats with "Monsters," and Sea Wolf's "The Violet Hour" is a swirling little pop-rocker that seems to trickle down the reverberating guitar.

Then there's Thom Yorke, whose buzzy-edged electronic "Hearing Damage" is a furtive, dark little rush of sinister beauty. And of course, Muse is included in the stomping, mournful rocker "I Belong To You (New Moon Remix)."

Some of these bands are also going unexpectedly low-key to suit the mood, even if they're usually much louder. The Killers turn out the dramatic layered lament of "A White Demon Love Song," while Black Rebel Motorcycle unfurl a twangy lo-fi ballad "Done All Wrong." OK GO abandon their usual sound in favor of the trippy psychedelic-edged "Shooting The Moon," and the Editors dip into a dramatic, hauntingly sad piano-rock sound with "No Sound But The Wind" ("Help me to carry the fire/it will light our way forever..."

But some brilliant indie pop also makes the cut. Lykke Li's "Possibility" is a shimmering, icy little melody, while Anya Marina sticks to acoustic guitar riddled with organ in the whispery "Satellite Heart." The absolute highlights of the album: Bon Iver and St. Vincent collaborate on the otherworldly, hymnlike "Roslyn," and Grizzly Bear's exquisite "Slow Life" is a slow haunting build to a celestial climax.

For the record, I'm not a fan of "New Moon" or Stephenie Meyers' Twilight series in general. But I felt a prickle go down my spine when I saw the songs listed for the soundtrack -- they've crammed it with one brilliant band after another, ranging from hard rock'n'roll to soft, sweet ballads. In fact, the only one that failed to move me was Alexandre Desplat's outro -- frankly, it was four minutes of boredom for me.

Otherwise, the playlist sets a wonderful mood -- think a mingling of bittersweet romanticism and outright melancholy, with lots of slowly winding piano, buzzing guitar, acoustics and ghostly veils of electronica and organ. The singers' voices range from dramatic laments (Matt Bellamy) to quirky murmurs (Anya Marina), and their lyrics tend to reflect two themes: loss ("How much pain has cracked your soul?/How much love would make you whole?") and love ("Even though you're only one I see/I've got to set you free...").

Even those who are not (and probably never will be) fans of the Twilight phenomenon should immerse themselves in the "New Moon Soundtrack." Taken on its own merits, it's still a haunting string of beautiful songs.

Amazing soundtrack to a fantastic film. The songs are very well chosen and are great to listen to. I would recommend this to any fans of the film. :) great!

An amazing soundtrack. Whether youre a Twihard fan or not.. you will appreciate the music excellence from these fantastic artisis.A very different soundtrack to that of Twilight. This is serious music. Well worth a listen.

With this soundtrack, music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas has outdone herself yet again. The woman who was behind the wonderfully refreshing "Music from The O.C.", who earned a Grammy for "Grey's Anatomy", and who is also responsible for the highly successful (and well-chosen) soundtrack of the first "Twilight" film, has assembled an eclectic mix of previously unreleased songs from numerous Indie-gods. With this, she strikes home and absolutely nails the tone and feeling of the story - maybe even that of a generation.
Those who know the heartbreaking tale of loss, friendship, sacrifice, and love, will suffer with protagonist Bella immediately upon hearing the melancholic songs. Even most of the lyrics mirror the story exactly and take the listener on a rollercoaster ride of emotions.
But this CD also creates a very unique and autonomous tone of its own that emotionally carries the movie further. It is one of the rare gems which prove that soundtracks can be much more than a random, insignificant musical underscore of motion pictures. This is why I strongly (and without hesitation) recommend this compilation also - or maybe especially - to those who have outgrown their teenage years and who do not know or like the books or movies, but who merely treasure good music.

I have to admit, I really only bought this to complete the set of Twilight music but it is the one I listen to the least. The music is mostly slow and pretty depressing.

I have read all the books and went to see this film twice at the cinema. I couldn't wait for the soundtrack because I knew while watching the film that I liked what i'd heard. I was not disappointed. I love it. A definite must for all twilight fans.

I find the soundtracks for all the Twilight movies fantastic. So even if you are not into Twilight, then take a look at the playlist

Bought this CD as liked track 3 10 and 4 the other tracks in the film were ok but think these three were brill
what I did not expect was after playing CD a few times found I liked all of the tracks. CD best played whilst driving alone v loud that way you do not hiss off other people. A real gem.

as with the other cd from twilight saga the wife loves then and they seem to always be on in her car

I absolutely loved the Twilight soundtrack so bought the New Moon one when it was released. At first I only liked a few of the tracks on it but once I had listened to it a few times I grew to enjoy the rest also. Although not as good as the Twilight soundtrack it is still a really good compilation of music to listen to.